Top Guards In Northwest Indiana

In selecting the five regional areas for my regional articles, I used the Indiana Coaches of Girls’ Sports Association’s (ICGSA) five districts. Schools are evenly distributed by county and somewhat geographical, though not exact. Counties included in the "Northwestern" articles include: Benton, Carroll, Cass, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke, Tippecanoe, and White. Across the entire Prep Hoops Network, we are exploring ways to bring you different types of content in each of the states we cover. One idea we’ve come up with is "city rankings", where we highlight some of the better players in each metropolitan area. I felt like in Indiana, however, there are talented kids spread all over the state, so it wouldn’t be fair to solely focus on Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Evansville, for example. Instead, I have divided the state into five regions based on a fairly even distribution of the 400+ high schools available to choose from. It isn’t exact, but it seemed like the best way to make sure all prospects from the Hoosier state were considered. (Please see the italicized fine print above for a more specific breakdown of the counties used in this article.) Without further ado, below is a look at some of the top returning guards in "Northwestern" Indiana, arranged alphabetically within their graduating classes.   [player_tooltip player_id="130335" first="Taylor" last="Austin"], 2021, 5-4 CG, Lake Station Edison H.S. Taylor is a dynamic little water-bug type of combo guard. She is quick/fast, she has good length at her height, and she competes on every possession. She is a volume scorer who can make shots at all levels, but I feel like she’s still best attacking the basket or pulling up from 15 to 17-feet. She can handle the ball and run offense at times, but she is programmed as a scorer first. Defensively, she has the physical tools to be an elite on-ball defender, and she’s already good affecting passing lanes off the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="130311" first="Courtney" last="Blakely"], 2021, 5-7 PG, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute When you are the daughter of a former college star and WNBA player (Angela Hamblin), all eyes will be on you, fair or not. Courtney has done a tremendous job of handling that in stride, and she has turned herself into one of the best guard prospects in Indiana’s 2021 class. With interest/offers from various schools, including several from the Big East and Big Ten, she has proven to be a commodity for the next level. She is a solid athlete with length, she has a tremendous feel for the game, and she’s a nice perimeter shooter with range well-beyond the 3-point line. [player_tooltip player_id="62555" first="Alyna" last="Santiago"], 2021, 5-5 PG, Crown Point H.S. I really appreciate what Alyna brings to the table, but I think it’s lost on a lot of people because she doesn’t put up gaudy scoring numbers. She is a legitimate Division-I point guard prospect because she takes care of the basketball, she is selfless and finds teammates on-time/on-target, and she is an elite defender who can take on the best guards on Crown Point’s schedule. She can make shots outside to keep defenses honest, but I feel like if she was more selfish and scored in double figures, more colleges would have already offered. [player_tooltip player_id="99424" first="Daylynn" last="Thornton"], 2021, 5-7 CG, McCutcheon H.S. Daylynn is a really nice combo guard who just doesn’t have much notoriety outside of the Lafayette area. She is strong, physical, and plays with a good motor. She can handle the ball and run offense, she’s good getting through the lane and finishing at the basket, and her perimeter shot is consistent enough to keep defenses from doubling down off of her. I’m not exactly sure what position she’ll fulfill at the next level, because it will come down to who she can defend, but she can definitely play either guard spot offensively. [player_tooltip player_id="61030" first="Jessica" last="Carrothers"], 2022, 5-7 CG, Crown Point H.S. Without question, Jessica is the top guard on this list, in my opinion. Her motor and toughness alone separate her from most guards on any list. She has greatly improved as a ball-handler and distributor, but she is such an efficient scorer that I would want to set her up more than have her create. She is so strong and aggressive attacking the basket, she’s a great offensive rebounder as a guard, and while she’s a capable perimeter shooter, she doesn’t force shots outside. Defensively, she has really good instincts and gets her hands on a lot of passes. [player_tooltip player_id="97243" first="Teresa" last="Maggio"], 2022, 5-5 PG, McCutcheon H.S. If Teresa is anything, she is entertaining to watch. She is a feisty point guard who flies around the floor with contagious energy. She is great getting into the heart of the defense to collapse it, she can find open teammates, and she’s capable of knocking down an open perimeter jumper. As she matures and starts to change speeds better and not go 100 MPH all the time, I think it will really transform her game and make her incredibly tough to defend, if she wasn’t already. Look for her to put up big numbers in a full season at McCutcheon in 2020-2021. [player_tooltip player_id="127214" first="Tori" last="Allen"], 2023, 5-8 PG, Andrean H.S. As a Freshman, Tori stepped right into the Andrean lineup and took control of the offense. She is a long, fluid, and high IQ point guard who is almost too unselfish at times. She is a distributor first, yes, but she can also consistently knock down the perimeter shot, plus she can glide by defenders and get into the lane. Her overall feel and understanding of the game really helps the 59ers, as she rarely turns it over or makes the same mistakes multiple times. She has already drawn some Division-I interest as well. [player_tooltip player_id="59732" first="Ashlynn" last="Brooke"], 2023, 5-6 PG, Pioneer H.S. Ashlynn has endured quite the "circus" over the last year, as I’ve pointed out on more than a couple of occasions. Her ability to return in January from a July 2019 ACL injury and help lead her Pioneer team to the Class 1A State Finals was tremendous. She is an elite shooter in the 2023 class, she has a great handle and feel for the game, but because she shoots/scores it at a high level, I don’t think people really understand and appreciate what an incredible passer she is. As she continues to get back to 100%, look for her to pick up more offers quickly. [player_tooltip player_id="127223" first="Nasiya" last="Gause"], 2023, 5-7 CG, Lake Station Edison H.S. Nasiya was sort of 1B to [player_tooltip player_id="130335" first="Taylor" last="Austin"] (above) at Lake Station, but there were several outings where Nasiya was the best player on the floor, including their Sectional loss to Bishop Noll. She poured in 33 points in that game against a talented Noll squad with two guards on this list. "SiSi" is a strong, physical, and aggressive scorer attacking the basket. She can finish at the rim, score on a variety of pull-ups, plus she can knock down the occasional 3-pointer. She can handle it and run offense at times, but she is a high-level scoring threat from all areas on the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="59770" first="Mariah" last="Robinson"], 2023, 5-7 CG, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute I’m not terribly familiar with Mariah, as I’ve only seen her online, but she did stand out there, and I’ve been informed that she is a legitimate Division-I prospect by multiple people in the area. She is a wiry strong combo guard who can make plays off the dribble or score the ball as well. She is best attacking the basket and finishing at the rim or with a variety of pull-ups/floaters. She can make an open 3-pointer, but that part of her game can definitely use some fine-tuning. I also think she can become a really nice defender with a greater sense of urgency.   Other Noteworthy Guards: [player_tooltip player_id="130387" first="Katelyn" last="Halfacre"], 2021, Michigan City H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="99390" first="Aleena" last="Mongerie"], 2021, Munster H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="99414" first="Jennifer" last="Tomasic"], 2021, Lake Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="128133" first="Karsyn" last="Cherry"], 2022, Lafayette Central Catholic H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="128135" first="Tressa" last="Senesac"], 2022, Benton Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="128209" first="Abigail" last="Tomblin"], 2022, South Central H.S. (Union Mills) [player_tooltip player_id="127218" first="Olivia" last="Burkett"], 2023, North Judson-San Pierre H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="96074" first="Allison" last="Capouch"], 2023, Kouts H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="127220" first="Persia" last="Casey"], 2023, East Chicago Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="96078" first="Asia" last="Donald"], 2023, Hobart H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="59747" first="Riley" last="Flinn"], 2023, West Lafayette Harrison H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="96088" first="Riley" last="Messer"], 2023, Knox H.S. Addi Ward, 2023, Twin Lakes H.S.